Hi everyone from Sydney Australia

[Kimmie]

Hi all,
I'm planning to walk from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela next year. I am still deciding exactly when to leave but at this stage hope to fly out of Sydney in mid August 2010, spend five or six days in Paris, get down to St Jean Pied de Port a few days later and then start the walk.I dont want to rush it - I want to be able to enjoy the view, the space, the villages, the people, the culture and everything else, so I plan to take approximately six weeks to do the walk. I am still working out all the details but am very excited about it. My friend at work did it two years ago with her husband and she has told me how wonderful it was....
This forum is so interesting, I love reading all the different comments/points of view etc.. it gives me a good feel for what to expect when I get there..
I will be doing this walk on my own so hope to meet many friends along the way. My main concern is safety, although my friend assures me it is completely safe to do on your own (as a woman), however if anyone else has any comments on this issue of safety, I would really appreciate it,
looking forward to hearing from you,
Kimmie

 

[skilsaw]

Welcome aboard Kimmie.
Safety comes up as an issue on this forum every year.
The consensus is that the Camino is safe for single women.
You will be walking in August / September, a very busy time with lots of pilgrims so have no fear.

David, Victoria, Canada

 

[Kimmie]

Hi David,
thanks for your reply regarding my safety concerns.. the more I am reading / hearing, the less I am feeling concerned about it.. by the way, I went to Canada two years ago and stayed in Victoria B.C for a short while - such a beautiful city... it will be interesting to see if my Camino holiday will prove to be more wonderful /memorable than my Canada holiday!!
Cheers
Kimmie

 

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Kimmie
I met lots and lots of women walking on their own on the 2 caminos I have done. Even on the del Norte which is not so popular I met several, and none of them have said to me that they felt unsafe. If anything, it was the opposite.
I met one Irish lass who was travelling on her own in May 2008, on the way to Finistere, and I visited her when I was in Ireland last month. She told me that she and her boyfriend had gone to Spain for a holiday 3 months ago, and as a special treat he had taken her to Compostela. While they on a guided roof-top tour of the cathedral he proposed to her. Every body say "ahhhhh".

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[Kimmie]

Hi Alan,
thanks for the reassurance - sounds like safety issues are not going to be a concern.. I'm set on going anyway, but its good to know I dont have to worry.... that story about the rooftop and the marriage proposal - sooo romantic!!!!!!
cheers, Kimmie

 

[RussellTheWalker]

Hi Kimmie,

I´m from Sydney, Australia also. Fear not about safety! It is very safe for a single woman, although you won´t be single for long. You will be joined by, and join with many other pilgrims from across the world. So whilst you might be coming to the Camino alone, you will definitely not feel like it!

I´m currently I´m on the Camino in Castrojeriz, but have to withdraw from the camino due to a stress fracture to one of my metatarsal bones in the foot. I walked from St Jean to Estella, before the pain became too much. I had put it down to my shoes, which I had worn in Nepal last year, but they ended up in a river and became hard. I couldn´t get shoes my size in spain seemginly, I tried in Estella, then caught the bus to Santander, a large coastal city and still no luck. So I flew to London got some shoes, spent 4 nights there and flew back and rejoined in Burgos, but sadly, 40km into my foot is roaring with pain again..

It´s just one of those things. I´ve walked all over the world, and climbed some mountains and never had problems, but I guess, I was unlucky enough to get my injury here, now, on the Camino.

I will say that I have met a great bunch of people on the way, from all parts of Europe and the UK, and one or two from Australia, Canada and South America. For you, as a single woman, you will not have to worry about safety as there are always people around at the Albergue each night and you will cross paths with on the trail. Now is off season, but there are at least a dozen people that are walking ´with me´. You will not be alone. Try to learn some spanish before you go as well though, and if you know french, that will help as well, as there are a large portion of french people doing the walk.

Buen Camino, and I wish you better luck than me. (if you want to get together for Coffee when I´m back in Sydney in November to discuss anything, let me know. I´m also happy to give you my guide book for free by John Brierley)!

Russell

 

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Russell,
I am so sorry to hear of your foot problem that will prevent you finishing this camino. I wish there is something I could say that would help you overcome the disappointment you must feel.

I had some experience of this last year when i met a couple from Melbourne who both held a long-term ambition to walk the camino. Unfortunately, she developed shin splints so severe that a doctor told her that if she insisted on continuing to walk, she would risk permanent injury. She was devaststed. I spent a lot of time talking to them in the monastory in Leon, as they came to accept that they woud not be able to walk as they had intended. I met them later in Compostela, where they had booked into the parador for a 5 day stay [you get 40% off if you stay for 5 days]. They would have given up the parador in a shot if they had been able to walk the whole way.


The other thing they told me was that the day I spoke to them in Leon was their 35th wedding anniversary. They had mentioned this in passing to the hospitalero as they booked in. He immediately gave them a double room to themselves.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[Kimmie]

Hi Russell,
thanks for your advice.. and really sorry to hear about your injury - it sounds very bad and painful - although I admire your philosophical approach.....it sounds like you have done alot of travelling and walking in your life ... I have been to a few beautiful and interesting places over the years, but have never attempted a "walking" holiday before and am very enthusiastic about the whole idea of the camino...
Thank you for your offer to give me the guide book, but only just ordered the very same one in the local bookshop a few days ago!! However if you really are up for a coffee when you get back, and you don't mind wasting a few hours talking to me (who knows virtually nothing about pilgramages and hasn't even booked my flight yet..) I would be very interested to hear about your experiences and any tips you can give me! Have a safe trip home..
Kimmie